This is shorter than some of my other chapters, but if I ever want to update I'm going to have to post smaller chapters. So have fun with this chapter. R & R please.

Dana jolted awake, springing forward from a sleeping position to a sitting position. She looked around the room; she didn't recognize a single thing in the room, except the one-shoulder, emerald green dress hanging from a hook on the closet door. She looked down at her own body. A wave of relief washed over her as she realized that she did have clothes on. Confusion was the next emotion she felt; she didn't remember changing into these clothes at all, or coming to this hotel or whatever it was that she was in. Taking a look at her clothes again, she realized she had never even seen them before. Dana knew she wasn't that drunk last night. The last thing she remembered was…sitting on Mulder's apartment steps with-. Dana gasped. 'Mulder!' she thought. 'I was supposed to call him when I got home last night. If I didn't go home, I can guarantee that I didn't call him.' Dana got up from the bed and walked around the room.

She didn't see any of the items she usually brought with her when she stayed the night somewhere. Dana looked out the window; it was still dark out. 'I couldn't have been out for very long, then.' She thought. There was a night stand beside the bed; Dana walked over to it. 'Maybe, for whatever reason, I put my things in the night stand or something.' She rummaged through the drawers, finding nothing that was hers. At this point, she started to panic.

The door opened with a sudden creak. Dana whipped around to face it. Tentatively, Dana walked toward the door. She stuck her head out the door and looked to her left and right. There was no one in sight. Whoever it was that had opened the door was already gone. For safety reasons, she went to close the door again, but it wouldn't close. Glancing down at the floor, she saw a silver food tray sitting there. She slid it towards her; then closed the door.

Dana hadn't decided if she was going to open the tray. Before she could come to a decision, her stomach began to growl. 'Well, if something did happen to me, what are the chances that said person will poison me, especially if they can't see me?" It wasn't the most logical explanation, but the slight hunger and pounding headache she had made her judgment be slightly off. Dana pulled the lid off the tray. Grabbing the handles, she set it on the bed. The food on the tray wasn't anything special. A bottle of water also sat on the tray. The lid had been unsealed and someone had screwed it back on before it was set on the tray. Dana knew drinking it would not be a good idea.

Dana was getting antsy just sitting in the one room having no idea where she was or what was going on. She decided to get up and check if the door to the dining room remained still unlocked. Grabbing the doorknob, she twisted it to the left. The door made the same creaking noise it made the first time it was opened. She stepped into the dining room and looked around. It couldn't look any scarcer. There was a simple wood dining table and three wooden chairs. Those were the only items in the room, except the door on the left wall.

Without missing a beat, Dana walked over to the other door and tried the handle. It was unlocked. On the other side of the door, was a small hallway. 'Maybe following the hallway isn't such a bad idea,' she thought. So, Dana did just that. She crept along the corridor. When she reached the end, there was a staircase to her left and another room to her right. Looking into the room, she saw a living room. There was a couch, coffee table in front of the couch, bookcase on the far wall, and a TV stand on a different wall.

A hand grabbed Dana's shoulder. She jumped violently and spun herself around to face the unknown person. Though the man looked slightly familiar, Dana couldn't quite figure out who he was. The tall man spoke, "I wondered how long it would take you to come out of your bedroom. Judging by the way you were walking, I'd say you didn't drink the water."

Dana was suddenly very glad that she had noticed the cap on the water bottle had already been open. "What did you put in it?" Dana asked tentatively.

"Just a little something to put you back to sleep until I'm done working. Then, I think we can sit and watch some television together before I make you dinner. How does that sound, Sweetie?"

"What are you talking about? I don't know who you are." Dana said slightly frightened.

The man stared blankly at her for a moment. He suddenly raised his hand and slapped her in the face. The contact was so hard that she stumbled back a few feet. Her hand instinctively flew to cover the, now bruising, area on her cheek. Dana was so shocked that she didn't even respond.

The man's personality immediately changed. He walked toward her. "Oh my God. I'm sorry. Are you okay?"

Scully forced herself not to cringe or step back when the man came closer to her. Scully soon realized that if she was going to live until she figured out who this guy was and what he wanted, she had to do exactly what he said and go along with what he wanted. "Yeah," she muttered. "I'm alright." She dropped her hand from her cheek.

The man stepped even closer to her. There was something about his smell. She had known that she'd met this man before. The problem was she hadn't been able to place where she'd met him. It suddenly clicked when he got close enough for her to smell him. It was Nolan. The creepy guy she'd met at the airport after the flight home from New York.

He grabbed Dana's chin lightly in his right hand and used it to turn her face to the side so he could see her, now visibly, bruised cheek. He slid his hand up her jaw line and caressed the bruising spot with his thumb. Dana repressed a shudder at the unwanted contact. "I didn't mean to hit you. It was an overreaction and I'm very sorry." The strange thing was he actually looked sorry when he said it.

"It's okay," Dana affirmed. "I know it was an accident." She brought her own hand up to cover the one of his still located on her jaw. She was disgusted by the action, but she figured it would calm the man down. Her assumption was right. A wave of relief passed over Nolan. By now, Dana had it figured out that she hadn't come here voluntarily. She knew Mulder must be looking for her by now. She thought of a plan to find out where all her stuff went. "Hey, Nolan?" she asked quietly, raising her eyes to meet his.

He tilted his head slightly in response.

"What did you do with the stuff I had with me last night?" she asked as innocently as she could.

His eyes widened in surprise. "Your stuff?"

Dana nods in affirmation. "Yeah, I had my purse with me when I was at my…um…my friend's apartment last night." Although Mulder was quite obviously her boyfriend, it was so obvious that Nolan had feelings for her. She didn't want to set him off and have him do something worse to her than the harsh slap he delivered before.

Nolan only stared at her for a moment. Dana felt fear start to bubble in her stomach. That first slap to her face was anything but pleasant and she didn't want to experience it again. Nolan started to nod slowly. "I think you should go back to your room now," Nolan spoke slowly, as if he was carefully thinking his thoughts through.

Dana stood still, not moving towards the hall that she came out of. "Now!" Nolan yelled at her. Dana took a tentative step forward and then another. She didn't want to stop walking and then have Nolan grab her. He didn't seem to know his own strength, or he didn't care if he hurt her. "Dana? I might have a few more things to do for work. I'll see you later if I can." Dana just nodded in response.

As Dana walked through the doorway into the almost empty dining room, the door swung closed behind her. Dana heard a lock click into place. "Well, might as well find something to do in here." She mumbled out loud.

Mulder sat anxiously by the phone. It had been way too long. Scully should have arrived home at least half an hour ago. Mulder didn't want to seem like the clingy boyfriend, but he wanted to make sure she was okay. Mulder decided he didn't care if she thought he was clingy. With the unsolved x-file he's been working on, there was no way in hell he would not call her. She had promised, right? That she'd call when she got home? It wasn't like she was intoxicated. She was just drunk enough to not be able to drive properly.

He couldn't wait any longer. Mulder practically left off his couch to grab his cell phone. He almost unconsciously dialed her number. The phone just kept ringing. "Damn it!" he cursed when her phone went to voicemail. Suddenly, a thought popped into Mulder's head. He went to his recent calls. He redialed the number of the taxi service he had called earlier for Scully.

"Hello, I called earlier for a cab to come to my apartment. Could you ask the driver if they picked a young, red-haired woman up here?"

"Sure, give me a second. I can use this number to find the address when you called earlier." Mulder heard the click-clacking sound of a keyboard. "Okay, Mike was the cabbie who drove to your apartment. Umm, he said that he didn't pick anyone up. He waited for about ten minutes. I hope that helped you."

"Yeah, it kind of did. Thanks." Mulder didn't even wait to hear if the woman responded before he hit the end button.

Mulder started to pace his living room. This was worse than he thought. "Shit! Okay, I just need to remain calm." Mulder tried to reassure himself. "I'll need to call Reyes soon, but not before I have more information. She should have been waiting on the steps outside the apartment building. I need to check there for any sign of her." Mulder shoved his shoes on his feet and practically ran the door over attempting to get out of his house.

He bounded down the steps outside the building. Mulder saw something glint in the light composed from the streetlights. He tried to stop about half way down, but he was running so fast that he just fell down the rest of the stairs. Mulder stumbled back up the stairs. Between the thin pillars that ran down from the banister that was attached to the stairs, Mulder spotted Scully's black clutch. He opened it and pulled out her phone. "Well, that's why she wasn't answering. This must have been the last place she was seen." Mulder stood quickly. "There are security cameras in the alley across the street and there should be some for this building."

Mulder sprinted inside to the front desk. The front door slammed behind him. The man behind the desk jolted awake. "Um, how can I help you, sir?" the man's voice was husky with sleep. It was obvious the man's eyes were adjusting to the light. Mulder had seen the guy here all the time, but never had a real conversation with him. Mulder stood quietly and waited for the guy's eyes to adjust. "Oh, hey, Mulder, I couldn't see who you were for a second. What can i do for you, man?"

"Does this building have security cameras outside?" Mulder asked straight away.

"Um, I think we have them out there. I don't know if they actually work though. I can find out in the morning if you want. It's kinda late right now. The super might get mad if I call him right now." The man stuttered.

"Yeah, if you could find that out for me in the morning, I would really appreciate that." Mulder said. With that, he went back up to his apartment.

As soon as he walked in, he grabbed his cell off the couch where he had left it. He scrolled through his contacts until he found Monica. He pressed send and he put the phone to his ear. The phone kept ringing; Mulder thought she wasn't going to answer. On the last ring, Monica picked up the phone. "Hello?" it was obvious that she had been sleeping.

"Hey, I think Scully has been kidnapped." Mulder said quickly without explanation.

"Mulder, what the hell are you talking about?" Monica sat up in bed. "This isn't funny."

"I know it's not funny. I'm being completely serious. We work at the F.B.I. I'm not able to have that kind of a sense of humor. I think someone took Scully, and I'm gonna need your help to find her." Mulder expressed to Monica.

Monica sighed. "Mulder, I'm gonna need proof."

"I know. I have proof. Get your ass over here as soon as possible and I'll show you what I have." Mulder tried to keep his voice under control. He was becoming frustrated.

"Alright, alright. I'll be there soon. Just hold on." Monica could hear the frustration in his voice. That's when she decided to believe what he was saying.

Monica hung up the phone and set it on the bedside table. She was going to have to wake John up. Honestly, she was surprised that he hadn't woken up while she was talking. He wasn't a very heavy sleeper. Monica quietly slid out of bed. She slipped into her jeans from earlier. Silently, she opened the top drawer of the dresser and pulled out a simple bra and a pair of white socks. She pulled her t-shirt off and snapped the bra into place. She pulled the t-shirt over her head again. Monica glanced back at John, who was sleeping soundly. Monica padded to the bathroom. She ran a brush through her hair.

When she walked back into the bedroom, she sat on the edge of the bed. She gently nudged John's shoulder with her hand. "Hey," she whispered. "Hey, John."

John blinked his eyes and looked at Monica. "Wat iz it?" His words were slurred from sleep. He noticed Monica had dressed and shook his head to push the sleep out.

Monica smiled sweetly and said, "I have to go to Mulder's apartment. He thinks something happened to Dana. I should be back soon."

John glanced at her with a concerned expression. "Do you want me to come too?"

"No, if we find anything I'll give you a call, okay?" Monica leaned over and kissed John's cheek.

Monica stood from the bed. She walked out of their apartment and grabbed a taxi to head to Mulder's apartment. Sitting on the steps, when Monica got out of the cab, was Mulder. "Hey," she called out. "So, what kind of proof do you have for me?" Mulder didn't respond; he simply held up Scully's clutch from the previous night. Monica shrugged. "So what? You have her purse? It's not like Dana couldn't have forgotten it."

Mulder shakes his head. "No, look inside it. Her keys, her cell, and her money. She wouldn't have just forgotten it," Mulder insisted.

Monica looked at him, unconvinced by this evidence. "Maybe she had some luck last night and is simply sleeping in her apartment that she forgot to lock before she left after the cabbie was kind enough to give her an IOU," Monica shrugged. "Have you called her house phone?"

Mulder nodded enthusiastically. "Of course! I've thought of every possible situation. Someone must have taken her," Mulder exclaimed.

Monica noticed Mulder was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. "Mulder, you need to calm down. I'm sure she's fine. And if something did happen to her, Dana's a big girl and knows how to take care of herself."

Mulder took a shaky breath. "You don't understand. I think this is my fault. I've made one too many enemies while working on the X-Files."

"Mulder, what do you mean?"

Mulder stared guiltily at the concrete steps below him. "It's a long story."

Monica placed her hands on her hips. "Apparently, we have time."

Mulder sighed in resignation. "I suppose you're going to find out eventually anyway."

With that, Mulder began his tale. He explained everything to her, from the beginning to when he discovered the Syndicate and their plan to his most recent attempts to extinguish their cover ups and detrimental actions. Mulder's tale finally came to a close; he looked up at Monica, expecting her to be laughing at the ridiculousness of the story that just escaped his mouth. Instead Monica sat there in utter shock, jaw hanging open. "Mulder…" she started to say. She looked up to meet his gaze. "I think something bad must have happened to her."

Dana sat on the uncomfortable bed in the room she was starting to think of as hers. She'd been sitting here for God knows how long. Being locked in a small set of rooms was not Dana's idea of a good time, but what bothered her more was the fact that she had absolutely no idea where she was. 'How stupid was I to get myself into a situation like this?' Dana sighed softly. She thought she must have been sitting in this room for hours, judging by the sun's path through the sky.

The tray of food from earlier in the day still sat on her bed. Dana's appetite left completely after her encounter with Nolan. Not knowing when Nolan planned to retrieve her from her room, she decided eating the slightly stale sandwich wasn't the worst idea. Dana absentmindedly chewed her sandwich, wondering if she was able to get herslf out of this situation alive. Popping the last bit of sandwich into her mouth, she sighed. She had two options; either search every corner and crevice throughout the two rooms to find a way to escape, or play along with whatever Nolan had planned long enough for her to escape alive. The latter seemed a better option, especially since that's when she heard the door to the hall creak open…